The Booking Confirmation: Six Details and the Order That Gives Guests a Quick Overview
A look at which order gives guests the fastest overview in the booking confirmation - and why time, party size, address, change options, practical information and menu link should be prioritised in exactly this order.
The order determines what the guest finds quickly
Does the guest open the confirmation to double-check the time, or to find the address right before leaving home? The answer likely varies from restaurant to restaurant and from guest to guest, but the order of information in the message should still be based on a deliberate prioritisation - not simply on whatever order a booking system happened to generate during configuration.
If the menu link sits at the top and the time at the bottom, the guest has to read through the entire message just to find the one detail she was actually looking for. A clear structure - time, party size, address, change options, practical information, then menu - lets the guest skim quickly regardless of why she opened the message on this particular occasion.
Time and party size come first
The time should appear right at the top of the confirmation, written out in full - "Saturday, 14 September at 7:00 PM" rather than just the clock time. This removes the most common source of confusion: guests misremembering the day because the message only showed the time. How much of the date to spell out is something the restaurant should judge based on when bookings are typically made - the same week or several weeks ahead.
Party size should appear directly below the time, phrased as a concrete number - "table for 4" is easier to check against one's own memory than "booking confirmed." If the reservation involves a larger group with several contact people, the restaurant may want to consider whether party size should still be placed at the top, or whether other details should take priority in that particular case.
Address and change options follow right after
The address should be the third piece of information, and it should include more than just the street name and postal code. A well-known landmark, the correct entrance, or a reference to a neighbouring building can make it easier to find the way, especially in the dark or at locations with multiple entrances. The restaurant should consider which details are genuinely useful for its specific location, rather than simply copying a generic template.
The link for changing or cancelling the booking should sit directly below the address, not at the very bottom of the message after the practical information. When the restaurant uses a booking link guests can open without creating an account - as TableBooking enables - the threshold for reporting changes becomes lower, and the restaurant can avoid phone calls that are only about moving a time slot.
Practical information comes before the menu
Practical information - parking, dress code, whether the venue has stairs without an elevator, or who the guest should approach upon arrival - should come after the change option, but before the menu link. Which points are relevant varies from place to place, and the restaurant should assess for itself which three or four details actually prevent confusion upon arrival.
The menu link should come last, since it's the piece of information the guest can most easily wait to check. Exactly how early a guest actually looks at the menu is something the restaurant can't know for certain, but placing the link at the top risks stealing attention away from the time and party size - the two details that must be correct for the visit to go as planned.
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